Combination ice crusher and drink mixer

ABSTRACT

A combination ice crusher-drink mixer appliance which serves either as an ice crusher or as a drink mixer or as a combination of the two whereby to provide crushed ice to a drink as it is being mixed. An electric motor is operably connected to an upwardly inclined ice-crushing auger which is rotatable in an ice-crushing barrel whereby ice cubes introduced to the lower end of the auger-barrel combination through a vertically disposed ice chute are simultaneously crushed, sized, and transported upwardly to a crushed ice discharge port at the upper end of the barrel. A crushed-ice-receiving and drink-mixing container has an agitator mounted off center in the bottom thereof with the container being selectively positionable adjacent the crushed ice discharge port in either of two positions. In one of these positions only, the agitator is automatically coupled to the electric motor. The path of ice movement through the appliance from the entrance to the ice chute to the bottom of the container is in the form of an inverted N and the ice crushing auger and barrel are formed of high strength plastic. The drive connection between the electric motor, which has a built-in impact clutch, and the auger includes a gear reduction mechanism and a modified universal-joint with the drive ratio therebetween being in the order of 100:1, the drive ratio between the electric motor and the agitator being in the order of 1:1. The ice chute has a cover which, when opened, defines an upward extension of the ice chute. The auger is readily removable from the barrel for cleaning and the container has a pouring spout with a strainer and a hand-grip formation. The components of the combination ice crusher-drink mixer appliance are nested together to provide a compact multi-purpose appliance which occupies a minimum amount of countertop space.

United States Patent Walter et a1.

[ 1 Sept. 24, 1974 COMBINATION ICE CRUSHER AND DRINK MIXER [75]Inventors: John Walter, Evergreen Park;

Worthy L. Chambers, Lombard; John M. Stipanuk, Elmhurst, all of I11.

[73] Assignee: Sunbeam Corporation, Chicago, Ill.

[22] Filed: Oct. 10, 1973 [21] Appl. No.: 405,044

Related US. Application Data [62] Division of Ser. No. 226,157, Feb. 14,1972, Pat. No.

[52] US. Cl 241/260.1, 241/82.6, 241/100, 241/101 B, 241/10l.6, 241/DIG.17 [51] Int. Cl. B02c 19/00 [58] Field of Search 241/82.3, 82.6, 100,101.6, 241/101 B, 246, 260.1, DIG. 17

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,337,955 4/1920 Punzelt241/247 7 1,641,699 9/1927 Smith 241/100 X [5 7] ABSTRACT A combinationice crusher-drink mixer appliance which serves either as an ice crusheror as a drink mixer or as a combination of the two whereby to providecrushed ice to a drink as it is being mixed. An electric motor isoperably connected to an upwardly inclined ice-crushing auger which isrotatable in an ice-crushing barrel whereby ice cubes introduced to thelower end of the auger-barrel combination through a vertically disposedice chute are simultaneously crushed, sized, and transported upwardly toa crushed ice discharge port at the upper end of the barrel. Acrushed-ice-receiving and drink-mixing container has an agitator mountedoff center in the bottom thereof with the container being selectivelypositionable adjacent the crushed ice discharge port in either of twopositions. In one of these positions only, the agitator is automaticallycoupled to the electric motor. The path of ice movement through theappliance from the entrance to the ice chute to the bottom of thecontainer is in the form of an inverted N and the ice crushing auger andbarrel are formed of high strength plastic. The drive connection betweenthe electric motor, which has a built-in impact clutch, and the augerincludes a gear reduction mechanism and a modified universal-joint withthe drive ratio therebetween being in the order of 100:1, the driveratio between the electric motor and the agitator being in the order of1:1. The ice chute has a cover which, when opened, defines an upwardextension of the ice chute. The auger is readily removable from thebarrel for cleaning and the container has a pouring spout with astrainer and a hand-grip formation. The components of the combinationice crusher-drink mixer appliance are nested together to provide acompact multi-purpose appliance which occupies a minimum amountofcountertop space.

\ 260 are PATENTEDsarzaaau COMBINATION ICE CRUSHER AND DRINK MIXER Thisis a division, of application Ser. No. 226,157, filed Feb. 14, 1972, nowUS. Pat. No. 3,791,597.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention Our presentinvention pertains to a combination ice crusher-drink mixing appliancewhich, because of the efficiency of the design, takes up a minimum ofspace and provides either an ice-crushing operation, a drinkmixingoperation, or a simultaneous combination of the two.

2. Description of the Prior Art To the best of our knowledge, there havebeen no combination appliances developed that combine an ice-crushingfeature in combination with a drinkmixing feature as disclosed in ourpresent invention. It should be noted that some users of food-blenderapplicances may have used same to simultaneously crush ice and mixdrinks. However, most blender manufacturers specifically warn purchasersof their blenders that they should not be used for crushing ice. Inusing a standard food blender as a combination ice-crusher-drink mixer,it is noted that the same agitator that accomplishes the drink mixingoperation also has to accomplish the ice crushing operation for which itis not specifically designed. In our combination appliance, a separateice crushing mechanism in the form of an auger rotatable in a barrel isprovided in addition to the drink mixing agitator mounted in thecrushed-ice-receiving container.

Most known ice crushers utilize metal claws, hammers and die castingswhich are not only extremely noisy in operation but are also subject torust and corrosion. Our unique high strength plastic ice crushing augerand barrel combination provides compression crushing of the ice therebyreducing the noise of operation and eliminating the problem of rust andcorrosion.

Ice crushers are generally of a linear design with the ice to be crushedinserted at the top with the ice traveling downwardly through a crushingmechanism after which it drops into a container. In such an arrangement,it is necessary to provide adequate safety space so that a users fingerwill not be caught in the crushing mechanism. Our zig-zag ice pathsubstantially reduces the required vertical dimension while our two-partice chute cover provides a safety factor.

Although combination ice crusher-can opener appliances and separate icecrusher attachments for blenders are both known in the art, we areunaware of any combination ice crusher-drink mixer appliance other thanthe one disclosed herein.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention is concerned with acombination ice crushing and drink mixing appliance which serves eitheras an ice crusher or as a drink mixing appliance or as a uniquecombination of the two whereby crushed ice may be delivered directlyinto the drink mixing container during mixing of a drink therein. Theappliance has a generally L-shaped housing with a drink mixing containerbeing seatable on the horizontal leg portion of the L-shaped housing andadapted to receive crushed ice from a discharge port provided at theupper end of the vertical leg portion of the L-shaped housing. Agenerally vertically disposed ice chute and an upwardly inclined icecrushing barrel are provided in the vertical leg portion of the L-shapedhousing with both the entrance to the ice chute and the crushed icedischarge port of the barrel being located at the top of the verticalleg portion of the L-shaped housing. The lower end of the ice chute isin communication with the lower end of the barrel. To provide a verycompact appliance with maximum counter space economy, the path ofmovement of ice from the entrance to the ice chute to the bottom of thecontainer is in the form of an inverted N. To simultaneouslycompression-crush the ice against the inner bore of the barrel whileadvancing the ice upwardly to the discharge port, an auger having avarying root diameter is rotatable in the barrel. The auger is rotatablydriven by an electric motor mounted in the housing. The auger and theicecrushing barrel are preferably both formed of high strength plasticwhereby to eliminate the problem of rust and corrosion of these parts aswell as to substantially reduce the noise level of the ice crushingoperation.

A snap-lock cap is provided for the upper end of the ice-crushingbarrel, which cap in part defines the discharge port, and a knob isformed on the upper end of the auger to facilitate removal of the augerfrom the barrel for cleaning when the cap is removed. A twopart hingedcover is provided for the entrance to the ice chute, which cover, whenopen, defines an upward extension of the ice chute so as to furtherdecrease the possibility of fingers coming into engagement with therotary auger. The two parts of the ice chute cover are interconnected bypin-and-slot arrangements whereby when one part of the cover is opened,the other part is automatically cammed open.

The electric motor, which is provided with ,a built-in impact clutch, ismounted with its drive shaft disposed vertically. It is drivinglyconnected to the upwardly inclined auger through a :1 gear reductionmechanism and a modified universal-joint connection. Also drivinglyconnected to the electric motor through a 1:1 pulley drive arrangementis an agitator-drive coupling which projects upwardly from thehorizontal leg portion of the L-shaped housing. This coupling ispositioned off-center relative to the center of thehorizontal legportion of the L-shaped housing.

The crushed ice-receiving and drink-mixing container has a shaftrotatably mounted in its bottom with a drink-mixing agitator or impellermounted on its upper end within the container and with a mating couplingmounted on its lower end and adapted to be engageable with the agitatordrive coupling. The shaftis positioned off-center relative to thecenterof the bottom of the container whereby when'the container ispositioned one way relative to the horizontal leg portion of theL-shaped housing, the two couplings are automatically engaged to providea drink-mixing operation. If ice cubes are dropped into the ice chute,crushed ice will be fed into the drink or ingredients being mixed.However, if the container is to serve merely as a collector for crushedice, the container is lifted, turned and replaced on the horizontal legportion of the L- shaped housing whereby the two couplings aremiscontainer. The container has a pouring spout formed in one cornerwith the side opposite the pouring spout being roughened and formed toprovide a non-slip hand grip. A cover for the container has a strainerformation for association with the pouring spout and an opening adaptedto be positioned adjacent the crushed ice discharge port.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a new and novelcombination ice crusher-drink mixer appliance which is extremely compactand requires a minimum of counter space.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide such acombination appliance which serves either as an ice crusher, or as adrink and food mixer, or as a unique combination of the two wherebycrushed ice may be automatically fed into a drink while same is beingmixed.

It is still a further object of the present invention to provide such acombination appliance wherein the icecrushing parts are formed of highstrength plastic.

Another object of the present invention is to provide such a combinationappliance wherein the path of ice movement therethrough is in the formof an inverted N.

Another object of the present invention is to provide such a combinationappliance wherein the ice crushing mechanism comprises an auger having avarying root diameter which is rotatable in an upwardly inclinedicecrushing barrel, the bore of which is provided with a series oflongitudinally extending serrated flutes which define longitudinalshoulders facing in a direction opposite to the direction of rotation ofthe auger.

Yet another object of the present invention is to provide such acombination appliance having a vertically disposed ice chute for feedingice cubes to be crushed to the lower end of the ice crushing barrel anda twopart cover for the ice chute which, when open, provides an upwardextension of the ice chute.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide such acombination appliance wherein a snap-lock cap is provided at the upperend of the ice crushing barrel and wherein a knob is formed on the upperend of the auger to facilitate removal of same from the barrel forcleaning when the snap-lock cap is removed.

A still further object of the present invention is to provide such acombination appliance having a container adapted to receive crushed icedischarged from the upper end of the ice-crushing barrel and having anagitator mounted in the container bottom off-center relative to thecenter of the container bottom.

A still further object of the present invention is to provide such acombination appliance wherein the container is positionable in twopositions in only one of which the agitator is coupled to a drivemechanism for providing drink-mixing operation of the agitator, thecontainer when in its other position merely serving as a collector ofcrushed ice.

Another object of the present invention is to provide such a combinationappliance wherein the container is provided with a pouring spout, a handgrip portion, and a cover having a strainer adjacent the pouring spoutand a crushed-ice-receiving opening.

An additional object of the present invention is to provide such acombination appliance having an electric motor which is operablyconnected to both the icecrushing auger and the agitator drive mechanismwith the drive ratio to the augerbeing much lower than to the agitatordrive mechanism.

Another additional object'of the present invention is to provide such acombination appliance wherein the drive connection between the electricmotor and the upwardly inclined auger is a modified universal-jointconnection.

Yet another additional object of the present invention is to providesuch a combination appliance wherein the electric motor is provided witha unique built-in impact clutch which permits substantially one fullrevolution of the motor rotor before engagement of the motor drive shaftwhereas to provide a high apparent starting torque and starting impact.

Further objects and advantages of the present invention will becomeapparent as the following description proceeds, and the features ofnovelty which characterize the invention will be pointed out withparticularity in the claims annexed to and forming a part of thisspecification.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS non-mixing operation;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view on a smaller scale of the combinationappliance shown in FIG. 1 with the container positioned for adrink-mixing operation;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a mixed drink being poured from thecontainer;

FIG. 4 is a partial perspective view of the combination applianceillustrating the ease of removal of the auger from the ice-crushingbarrel;

FIG. 5 is an enlarged longitudinal vertical sectional view taken throughthe combination appliance while same is crushing ice and discharging thecrushed ice into the container in which a drink is being simultaneouslymixed;

FIG. 6 is a sectional view taken along line 66 of FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is a partial front elevational view of the lower portion of thecombination appliance as shown inFIG. 5 with the container and thecontainer supporting portion of the housing being shown in verticalsection and with the container being positioned in its non-mixingposition;

FIG. 8 is a partial vertical sectional view through the vertical legportion of the L-shaped housing of the combination appliance as shown inFIG. 5 with the barrel cap and the auger removed and the ice chute coverclosed;

FIG. 9 is a right hand end view of FIG. 8;

FIG. 10 is a rear elevational view of the barrel assembly of FIG. 8 withthe assembly pivoted about 20 in a clockwise direction;

FIG. 11 is a top plan view of FIG. 8;

FIG. 12 is a partial perspective view illustrating removal of the barrelcap;

FIG. 13 is a perspective view of the barrel cap looking towards the rearof same;

FIG. 14 is an elevational view of the auger;

FIG. is a detail view, partially in vertical section, of the electricmotor showing the built-in impact clutch thereof; and

FIG. 16 is a partial top plan view of FIG. 15 with the return spring ofthe impact clutch removed for clarity.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring now to the drawings inwhich like parts are designated by like numerals in the various views,there is shown in FIG. 1 a combination ice crusher-drink mixer appliancewhich is designated generally by reference numeral 20 and which embodiesour invention. The combination appliance 20 includes a generally L-shaped housing 22 having a vertical leg portion 24 and a horizontal legportion 26. A crushed-ice-receiving and drink-mixing container 28 havinga cover 30 is adapted to be supported on the horizontal leg portion 26of the L-shaped housing 22 in a manner to be described. With thecontainer 28 seated on the horizontal leg portion 26 of the L-shapedhousing 22, as best illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2, it can be seen thatthe combination appliance 20 embodying our present invention isextremely compact in configuration. In front elevation, the combinationappliance 20 is approximately ten inches square with a depth of onlyfour inches whereby to provide maximum counter space economy.

The housing 22, which is supported at its bottom corners by suitablerubber-like feet or pad members 32, is provided in the vertical legportion 24 thereof with an upwardly inclined ice-crushing mechanism 34which includes a unique combination of an ice-crushing barrel assembly36 and an ice-crushing auger 38 rotatable therein.

As best illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 5, ice cubes 40 to be crushed aredropped into an ice chute 42 which is generally vertically disposed andhas an opening 44 in the top of the vertical leg portion 24 of thehousing 22 with the ice cubes 40 falling by gravity to the lower end ofthe barrel-auger ice-crushing mechanism 34 and with the ice then beingtransported upwardly through the barrel 36 by the auger 38, whilesimultaneously being compression-crushed and sized in a manner to bedescribed, to a crushed ice discharge port 46 which is disposed at theupper end of the vertical leg portion 24 of the housing 22 overlookingand adjacent the horizontal leg portion 26 thereof. As is best shown inFIG. 5, the discharge port 46 is positioned slightly above an upper edge48 of the container 28 when same is supported on the horizontal legportion 26 of the housing 22 whereby the crushed ice is delivereddirectly into the container 28. During operation of the appliance 20 asa combination ice crusher-drink mixer, it is desirable that thecontainer cover 30 be in place on the container 28 to prevent spillage.Therefore, the container cover 30 is provided with acrushed-ice-receiving opening 50 which, as shown in FIG. 5, is disposedimmediately adjacent the crushed ice discharge port 46. It can thus beseen that the path of ice movement through the appliance 20 is in theshape of an inverted N when viewing the appliance from the front as inFIGS. 1, 4 and 5. This shape or configuration provides one of thelongest and simplest paths possible in a minimum of space and isprimarily responsible for the compactness of the combination appliance20 of our present invention. In recognizing the advantage of using thiszig-zag path, one should keep in mind that most home type ice crushersare almost the same height as the appliance 20 and discharge the crushedice at the bottom into relatively shallow containers. Our arrangementpermits the crushed ice to be discharged into the mouth of therelatively tall mixing container 28.

The housing 22, which may be molded in one piece of plastic, ischaracterized by front and back L-shaped walls 52 and 54, by an integralend wall 56 for the vertical leg portion 24, by an integral end wall 58for the horizontal leg portion 26, and by an integral vertical wall 60intermediate the vertical and horizontal leg portions 24 and 26,respectively. The upper end of the vertical leg portion 24 is open andthe bottom of the housing 22 is generally open.

A container-receiving cavity or dished-out recessed portion 62 isdefined in the horizontal leg portion 26 of the housing 22 by a bottomwall 64 which is spaced approximately midway between the upper and loweredges of the horizontal leg portions of the L-shaped front and backwalls 52 and 54. The integrally formed bottom wall 64 blends into thelower edge of the intermediate wall 60 and into the inner surfaces ofthe end wall 58 and the horizontal leg portions of the L-shaped frontand back walls 52 and 54 with a gentle curvature approximately midwaybetween the upper and lower edges thereof.

For supporting the container 28 in the dished-out recessed portion 62,the front and back wall sections 52 and 54 are each provided on theirinner surfaces with a pair of vertically disposed integral ribs 66 andthe end wall 58 is provided on its inner surface with a similar verticalrib 68, the upper surfaces of all of said ribs being spaced above thebottom wall 64 and adapted to support the bottom edges of the container28 whereby same is supported above the bottom wall 64 of the dished-outrecessed portion 62 for a reason which will be made clear hereinafter.

The bottom wall 64 of the container-receiving cavity 62 is providedalong its longitudinal center line with an integral boss 70 whichextends both above and below the bottom wall 64 and which has a verticalbore 72 formed therein. The boss 70 is off-set relative to the center ofthe bottom wall 64 and is disposed closer to the intermediate wall 60than to the end wall 58 for a purpose to be described. The bottom wall64 is also provided adjacent the right-hand corners thereof with a pairof integral depending bosses 74 for attachment of a pair of the feet orsupporting pads 32 thereto.

The vertical leg portion 24 of the L-shaped housing 22 is also providedwith an internal integral wall structure including, as is best shown inFIGS. 5 and 8, an internal bottom wall '76 which is spaced above thelower end of the vertical leg portion 24 of the housing 22. The internalbottom wall 76 is characterized by a first portion 78 having a groove ortrough 80 formed therein which is inclined downwardly toward thedished-out portion 62 and which communicates at its lower end with adrain hole 82 formed in the intermediate wall 60, by an auger-bearingportion 84 which is inclined at an angle of approximately 20 to thehorizontal, and by a sharply upwardly inclined ramp portion 86 which isdisposed generally beneath the ice chute opening 44. The auger-bearingportion 84 is provided with a depending boss 88 having a verticallydisposed bore 90 formed therein with horizontally disposed surfacesbeing provided at the upper and lower ends of the bore 90.

Depending from the underside of the internal bottom wall 76 are a seriesof bosses 92 against which a motor support bracket 94 is secured bysuitable fasteners. A further boss 96 depends downwardly adjacent theend wall 56 to a point adjacent the lower edge of the end wall 56. Theopen bottom of the housing 22 is closed by a thin metal plate 98 whichis secured against the depending bosses 74 and 96 by suitable fasteners.

The internal integral wall structure of the vertical leg portion 24 ofthe housing 22 is further characterized by an-arcuately curved wall 100which blends into the front and back walls 52 and 54 and curves past theintermediate wall 60 at an inclined angle with its upper central portionblending into the upper portion of the intermediate wall 60, as at 102in FIG. 8, and with its lower end intersecting the bottom wall 76between the first and auger-bearing portions 78 and 84, respectively,thereof. The arcuately curved wall portion 100 guides ice cubes into theauger 38 and provides support for the ice crushing barrel assembly 36shown in FIGS. 8 and 10. r

The barrel assembly 36 is generally cylindrical in configuration. Morespecifically, the upper portion 104 of the barrel assembly is cyindricalwhile the lower portion 106 of the barrel assembly is semi-cylindricalwith the cut-away portion being the half that would normally be mostclosely adjacent to the back wall 54. Thus the lower portion of thebarrel assembly 36 is open to the lower end of the ice chute 42. Thebarrel assembly 36 is further characterized by an integral vertical wallportion 108 which is disposed against the side edge of the ramp portion86 of the bottom wall 76 and which has a vertical edge 110 which abutsagainst the end wall 56 and is received between a pair of vertical ribsintegrally formed thereon. Preferably, the edge 110 is cemented to theend wall 56.

The inner bore of the barrel assembly 36 is provided around itscircumference with a series of longitudinally extending serrated flutes112, best shown in FIGS. 9 and 11, which define a series oflongitudinally extending edges 114 and longitudinally extendingshoulders 116 which face in a direction opposite to the direction ofrotation of the auger 38 for reasons to be fully discussed hereineafter.The term serrated flutes has been used in view of the serratedconfiguration which is apparent when viewing the barrel assembly 36 fromeither end and is not used in a sense that the flutes 112 or the edges114 are provided with transverse grooves or serrations.

In assembly of the barrel assembly 36 in the L-shaped housing 22, theassembly 36 is cemented in position using a suitable cement such asethylene chloride solvent thickened with ABS. As shown in the preferredembodiment illustrated in the drawings, the axis of the barrel assembly36 is disposed at an angle of approximately 20 to the vertical.

As best shown in FIGS. 8 and 10, an arcuately curved spike plate 118having several downwardly depending spikes 120 is mounted in the barrelassembly 36 adjacent the backside of the upper barrel portion 104. Aresilient stripper spring 122 is also mounted in the barrel assembly 36between the spike plate 118 and the curved wall 100.

The auger 38, as best shown in FIGS. and 14, has a planar bottom end 124which is adapted to be rotatably seated against the auger-bearingportion 84 of the bottom wall 76 and a knob or hand grip formation 126at its upper end. The root diameter of the helix 128 of the auger 38increases progressively from the lower end of same toward its upper end.A stainless steel spike 130 projects radially from the root diameter ofthe auger 38 near the lower end thereof and serves to initiateengagement of ice cubes 40 by the auger 38. The planar bottom end 124 ofthe auger 38 is provided with an axially aligned, generally squarerecess 132 for engagement with a suitable driving member.

The open upper end of the vertical leg portion 24 of the housing 22 isprovided with a cover 134 which is telescopically fitted into the openupper end of the vertical housing portion 24 and secured in place by aseries of press-fitted plastic pins. One corner of the cover 134 isprovided with the generally rectangular opening 44 of the ice chute 42and the diagonally opposite corner has a recessed configuration 136which is partially circular whereby same is fitted over the upper end ofthe barrel 36. The cover configuration 136 is further characterized by anotch at the upper edge of the intermediate wall 60 which defines thesides and lower edge of the crushed ice discharge port 46. A slidablymounted cap 138 for the auger barrel 36 defines the upper edge of thedischarge port 46. As best illustrated in FIGS. 12 and 13, the barrelcap 138 has a pair of side lugs 140 which are slidably received in apair of slots 142 pro vided in the housing cover 134. The inner end ofthe cap 138 is provided with a locking lug 144 which, as the cap 138 isslidably assembled to the housing cover 134, snap-locks into engagementwith a slot 146 formed in the cover 134. To disengage the locking lug144 from the slot 146, only a slight twisting movement of the cap 138 isnecessary. The cap 138 may be provided with indicia indicating whichdirection it should be twisted for release, as shown, and a roughenedportion 148 to facilitate such twisting movement.

The ice chute opening 44 in the cover 134 is provided with a two-partcover 150 which includes an upper door 152 and a lower door 156. Theupper door 152 is mounted by suitable hinge pins along the side of theice chute opening 44 furthest from the end wall 56 and is provided witha pair of integral depending quandrant-shaped side skirts 154. The lowerdoor 156 is connected by suitable hinge pins to the edge of the icechute opening 44 immediately adjacent the end wall 56 and is providedwith a pair of depending integral quandrant-shaped skirts 158 which areslidable along the inner surfaces of the skirts 154 of the upper door152 during opening and closing of the two-part ice chute cover 150. Theskirts 158 of the lower door 156 are provided with elongated slots 160in which are received integral pins 162 formed on the inner surfaces ofthe skirts 154 of the upper door 152. Thus, when the upper door 152 isopened and closed, the lower door 156 is opened and closedsimultaneously therewith.

When the two-part cover 150 is closed, the upper surface of the upperdoor 152 is flush with the upper surface of the cover 134 as is clearlyindicated in FIG. 8. In its closed position, the closing edge of theupper door 152 projects just slightly beyond the vertical wall 56 as isshown in FIGS. 8 and 11. This slight extension together with a chamferednotch 164 formed in the houisng cover 134 immediately below the door152, when closed, facilitates engagement of the upper door 152 by thefingers when it is desirable to open the two part cover 150 to depositice cubes 40 in the appliance 20. As illustrated in FIG. 11, the uppersurface of the upper door 152 may have the legend lce Chute moldedthereon adjacent the closing edge thereof.

When the two-part cover 150 is open to receive ice cubes 40, asillustrated in FIG. 1, it is noted that the two doors 152 and 156 definean upward extension of the ice chute 42 with the opening or entrancethereto being spaced above the top surface of the housing cover 134. Thecover 150 thus serves as a safety feature by incrasing the distancebetween the entrance to the ice chute 42 and the ice crushing mechanism34. Although not shown in the drawings, the underside of the upper door152 along the closing edge thereof has a legend molded thereon which isreadily readable by one about to insert ice cubes 40 into the applianceand which reads Caution Keep fingers out.

The doors 152 and 156 may preferably be formed of polypropylene wherebyboth doors may be molded flat in a family mold for part and toolsimplicity and for economy. Each door 152 and 156 is folded into its U-shaped, along living hinge fold lines, mated together and assembled aspart of the housing assembly. Their natural resilience keeps them snugto each other and to the walls of the ice chute 42.

The auger 38 is adapted to be rotatably driven by an induction typeshaded pole electric motor 166 which is supported in a suitable mannerfrom the motor support bracket 94 with its drive shaft 168 disposedvertically. The drive shaft 168 is supported in upper and lower bearings170 and has a circular fan member 172 mounted'on its lower end with fanblades 174 adapted to circulate cooling air past the motor windings.Although not shown in the drawings, the bottom plate 98 is provided witha series of air vent openings immediately adjacent the fan member 172.For a reason to be described hereinafter, the outer periphery of the fanmember 172 is provided with a grooved pulley configuration 176.

The auger 38 is driven by the motor 166 through a 100:1 gear reductionmechanism which includes a drive pinion 178 mounted on the upper end ofthe drive shaft 168, a spur gear 180 and a pinion 182 mounted on a stubshaft 181, and a spur gear 184 in driving engagement with the pinion 182and mounted on a vertically disposed shaft 188 having a novel universaldriving head 186 incorporated on the upper end thereof. The shaft 188 ofthe driving head 186 is rotatable in a bearing 190 mounted in the bore90 formed in the boss 88 of the bottom wall 76.

The driving head 186 has a unique configuration inasmuch as it isdisposed vertically for driving engagement with the auger 38 which isdisposed at an angle of 20 to the vertical and is designed to provide amodified universal-joint type driving connection. The driving head 186which is integrally formed on the shaft 88 and is received in thegenerally square recess 132 formed in the bottom end of the auger 38 maybest be described as being in the form of a pair of upper and lowertruncated pyramids wherein the bases are positioned together with thepyramidal sides of the driving head 186 being disposed at angles ofapproximately 22 to the vertical.

With this arrangement, when the barrel cap 138 is removed, the auger 38may be readily removed from the barrel 36 as shown in FIG. 4 forcleaning of both the barrel 36 and the auger 38. When the auger 38 isagain inserted into the barrel 36, a slight twisting movement willinsure reengagement of the auger 38 with the driving head 186.

As it is possible that the appliance 20 may be turned on while one ormore pieces of ice are disposed in the ice crushing mechanism 34, themotor 166 is provided with a built-in impact clutch 192 which provides ahigh apparent starting torque and some starting impact for rotation ofthe auger 38. As is best illustrated in FIGS. 15 and 16, the impactclutch 192 includes a first pin 194 which projects radially from themotor drive shaft 168 and a second tubular rotor pin 196 which extendsupwardly from the upper end of the rotor of the motor 166 offset fromthe center thereof so that the tubular pin 196 is engageable by theshaft pin 194. A return spring 198 wrapped around the motor shaft 168has one end anchored to the shaft pin 194 and the other end anchored inthe tubular pin 196. The return spring 198 is assembled in a manner suchthat when the motor 166 is not energized the spring 198 turns the rotor,which is free to rotate on the shaft 168, in a counter operatingdirection to a position wherein the pins 194 and 196 rest against eachother as shown in FIG. 16. When the motor is energized, the rotor willrotate approximately one full revolution before the pins 194 and 196 areengaged whereby the shaft 168 is turned through engagement of the rotorpin 196 with the shaft pin 194. The impact clutch 192 has been found toprovide almost twice the normal starting torque of the motor 166 withthe resulting high torque jolt being sufficient to free any ice jam orother high load starting condition. The impact clutch 192 permits theuse of a relatively inexpensive shaded pole motor even though such amotor is characterized as having low starting torque and as not suitablefor applications in which high starting torques are required.

A standard power cord 242 for connecting the electric. motor 166 to asource of electrical energy enters the housing 22 through a grommet 244mounted in the bottom plate 98. The ends of the power cord 242 areconnected to the field coil of the electric motor 166 in series througha single throw snap action on-off rocker switch 250 which is snapped inplace in an opening formed in the front wall 52 of the L-shaped housing22. One lead of the power cord 242 may be connected by a known type wirenut 248 to one of the field leads 246 of the electric motor 166 with theother lead of the power cord 242 being connected to one terminal of theswitch 250. The other terminal of the switch 250 is connected to theother field lead of the electric motor 166.

The crushed-ice-receiving and drink-mixing container 28 is provided withan integral bottom wall 200 which is spaced above the lower edges of theside walls of the container 28 and which slants generally conicallydownward from the side walls to facilitate the feeding of mixingingredients into the agitator described hereinafter. The bottom edges ofsaid side walls are supported on the ribs 66 and 68 whereby thecontainer 28 is supported above the bottom wall 64 of thecontainerreceiving cavity 62. The bottom wall 200 of the container 28 isformed with an upstanding boss 202 which is centered relative to thefront and back walls of the container but which is off-center relativeto the end walls of the container 28. The boss 202 is provided with avertical bore 204 in which is mounted a sleeve bushing 206.

The container 28 is provided with a drink-mixing agitator or impeller208 which is riveted to the upper end of a shaft 210 by means offorming-over the shouldered end of the shaft 210, as at 214, which shaft210 is rotatable in the sleeve bushing 206 mounted in the boss 202. AnO-ring 212 is provided at the upper end of the bore 204 in the boss 202to prevent leakage of liquids from the container 28. The agitator 208 ischaracterized by a pair of diametrical flutes 216 disposed perpendicularto one another and by a pair of downwardly inclined mixing arms orblades 218 which insure adequate mixing of a minimum amount of liquid orfood, such as for a single drink or even a single egg.

The lower end of the agitator shaft 210 extends slightly below thebottom wall 200 of the container 28 and has a coupling member 220 pressfitted thereon, which coupling member has a series of right-triangularclutch teeth 222 depending therefrom. The coupling member 220 does notdepend below the bottom edges of the walls of the container 28 wherebyto insure stability of the container 28 when placed on a table orcountertop.

An identical mating coupling member 228 having upwardly projectingright-triangular clutch teeth 230 is mounted on the upper end of a shaft224 which extends through the bore 72 which is formed in the boss 70provided off-center in the bottom wall 64 of the containerreceivingcavity 62. The shaft 224 is rotatable in a sleeve bushing 226 fitted inthe bore 72 of the boss 70.

A pulley 232 is press-fitted on the lower end of the shaft 224 and adrive belt 234 extends around the pulley 232 and the pulleyconfiguration 176 of the fan 172 associated with the electric motor 166whereby during energization of the motor 166 the coupling 228 issimultaneously driven. As the diameter of the pulley 232 is the same asthe diameter of the fan 172, the drive ratio between the motor 166 andthe coupling 228 is 1:1. The bottom plate 98 is provided with an opening236 which accommodates the hub portion of the pulley 232 and with an airvent 238. A fibre-board air baffle 240 is provided in the housing 22adjacent the motor 166 to direct the ventilating air effieciently overcritical motor areas.

With the agitator 208 being positioned off-center in the bottom of thecontainer 28 and with the agitator drive coupling 228 being positionedoffcenter relative to the bottom of the container-receiving cavity 62,the combination appliance may be used as an ice crusher alone, or as adrink or food mixing appliance alone, or as a unique combination of thetwo functions whereby crushed ice may be delivered into the container 28simultaneously during a drink-mixing operation. With the container 28positioned in the containerreceiving cavity 62 as shown in FIGS. 1 and7, the two mating coupling members 220 and 228 are misaligned and notengaged whereby the appliance serves only as an ice crusher and thecontainer 28 serves merely as a collector of crushed ice. However, ifthe container 28 is turned 180 and again positioned in thecontainerreceiving cavity 62, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 5, the couplingmembers 220 and 228 are automatically engaged, and when the motor 166 isenergized, the auger 38 and the agitator 208 are simultaneously rotated.With the container 28 thus positioned, and with ice cubes 40 being feddown the ice chute 42, crushed ice will be delivered into the container28 simultaneously during the mixing of a drink or other liquids therein,as shown in FIG. 5. If no ice is fed into the ice chute 42, theappliance serves merely as a drink mixing appliance as shown in FIG. 2.

The container 28 holds up to three pints of liquids and suitablemeasuring indicia may be molded thereon as shown in FIG. 1. One uppercorner of the container 28 is formed to provide a pouring spout 252. Theend wall of the container opposite the pouring spout 252 andapproximately one-third of each of the side walls adjacent thereto aregrained or roughened and preformed inwardly as at 254, to form aslip-resistant hand grip configuration whereby to facilitate gripping ofthe container 28 during a drink pouring operation, as shown in FIG. 3.

The container cover 30 is provided with depending side and end walls 256with the lower edges thereof being reduced in thickness whereby todefine downwardly facing shoulders 258 which are engageable with theupper edges of the side and end walls of the container 28, the upperedges of the container 28 being slightly offset outwardly to receive theside and end walls 256 of the cover 30. As previously noted herein, oneend wall 256 of the container cover 30 is cut away to define thecrushed-ice-receiving opening 50 which is positioned adjacent thecrushed ice. discharge port 46. The corner of the container cover 30adjacent the pouring spout 252 is cut away and provided with a series ofintegral depending and converging ribs which serve to define a strainerformation 260 as best shown in FIGS. 1 and 3.

Although the combination appliance 20 may be used most often to preparemixed alcoholic drinks, it is noted that it may also be used forpreparation of frozen juices, milkshakes and malts, instant breakfast,sauces of all types, whipped cream, scrambled eggs, puddings, etc.Although not forming part of the invention, it is noted that thiscombination appliance comes packaged in a polystyrene ice bucket.

In operation, ice cubes 40 to be crushed are dropped into the ice chute42 where they are engaged by the auger 38 and carried upwardly withpreliminary breaking of the ice cubes being provided by the spike 130and the spike plate 118, then on through the barrel assembly 36 with theice being compression-crushed and sized prior to discharge of samethrough the crushed ice discharge port 46. The simultaneouscompressioncrushing and upward movement of the ice is due to theincreasing root diameter of the auger 38 and the shoulders 116 definedin the fluted barrel bore. The shoulders 116, which face in a directionopposite to the direction of rotation of the auger 38, serve to reducethe rotary motion of the ice so that the auger 38 can effectively drivethe ice upwardly to the discharge port 46. The spike plate 118 and theauger spike 130 in breaking up the cubes 40 prevent jamming which mightoccur if unbroken chunks of ice became lodged between the auger 38 andthe wall of barrel assembly 36. The stripper spring 122 also serves toprevent jamming of the ice.

Any residual water attendant with an operation such as ice crushingdrains from the interior of the housing 22 down the trough to the drainhole 82 into the container-receiving cavity 62. This water is readilywiped from this exposed area and counter top puddles are avoided.

Although a substantial number of the parts of the combination appliancedisclosed herein may be formed of various plastics, it is to beunderstood that other suitable materials may also be used. If plasticsare used, however, certain plastics have been found to be particularlywell adapted for certain parts of this appliance 20. For instance, theauger 38 and the two doors 152 and 156 of the two-part ice chute covermay be formed of high strength polypropylene, as previously discussedherein. An auger 38 formed of this particular plastic may sustain shockforces up to ten ft-lbs. The housing 22, the barrel assembly 36 and thehousing cover 134, together with the pins connecting the cover 134 tothe housing 22, may be formed of high impact ABS. The barrel cap 138,because of the forces exerted thereon by the crushed ice beingdischarged from the barrel assembly 36, may preferably be formed of atough polycarbonate. The container 28 and the container cover 30 may beformed of styrene acrylonitrile copolymer. The couplings 220 and 228,the fan member I72 and the pulley 232 may be formed of nylon. A suitableplastic for the gear 180 has been found to be molybdenumdisulfide-fllled nylon.

While there has been shown and described a single embodiment of thepresent invention, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art thatvarious changes and modifications may be made without deparating fromthe invention in its broader aspects and it is, therefore, contemplatedin the appended claims to cover all such changes and modifications asfall within the true spirit and scope of the present invention.

We claim:

1. A motor operated ice-crushing electric appliance comprising, avertically disposed housing having an icecube receiving opening and acrushed-ice discharge opening both of which are disposed at the top ofsaid housing, a generally verticaly disposed ice chute defined in saidhousing and extending downwardly from said ice cube-receiving opening,an upwardly inclined ice-crushing barrel in said housing with its upperend terminating at said crushed-ice discharge opening and with its lowerend being in communication with the lower end of said ice chute, arotatable auger mounted in said barrel for simultaneously crushing andtransporting ice upwardly through said ice-crushing barrel to saidcrushed-ice discharge opening, and an electric motor mounted in saidhousing and operably connected to said auger.

2. The appliance of claim 1 wherein said top of said housing isgenerally flat and rectangular in configuration and wherein said icecube-receiving opening and said crushed-ice discharge opening aredisposed in opposite diagonal corners of said housing top.

3. The appliance of claim 1 wherein said ice-crushing barrel is providedon its bore with a series of longitudinally extending serrated flutesdefining a series of longitudinal shoulders facing in a directionopposite to the direction of rotation of said auger, and wherein saidauger is characterized by a root diameter which increases progressivelyfrom the lower end of said auger to its upper end, said flute shouldersand said increasing root diameter of said auger aiding incompressioncrushing and sizing of ice transported upwardly through saidbarrel by said auger.

4. The appliance of claim 3 wherein said barrel and said auger areformed of high strength plastic.

5. The appliance of claim 1 wherein said auger is rotatable about anaxis disposed at an angle of approximately 20 to the vertical andwherein a knob is provided on the upper end of said auger to facilitateremoval of same from said barrel.

6. The appliance of claim 5 wherein said electric motor is mounted insaid housing with its drive shaft disposed vertically, wherein saidmotor is provided with a built-in impact clutch, and wherein said motoris operably connected to said upwardly inclined auger through a gearreduction means and a modified universal joint connection.

7. The appliance of claim 6 wherein said modified universal jointconnection comprises a generally square recess formed in the lower endof said inclined auger and a vertically disposed driving head havinginclined sides drivingly receivable in said auger recess.

8. For use in an ice crusher appliance, an icecrushing mechanism,comprising, a generally cylindrical ice-crushing barrel with one endadapted to receive ice to be crushed and the other end adapted to havecrushed ice discharged therefrom, an auger rotatable in said barrel andhaving a root diameter which increases progressively in a directiontoward said discharge end of said barrel, the bore of said barrel beingprovided with a series of longitudinally extending serrated flutes whichare areuately curved whereby to define a series of longitudinallyextending shoulders facing in a direction opposite to the direction ofrotation of said auger, and drive means for rotating said auger toadvance ice through said barrel to said discharge end of same with saidflute shoulders and said increasing root diameter of said augercooperating to provide compressioncrushing and sizing of the iceadvanced through said barrel.

9. For use in an ice crusher appliance, an icecrushing mechanism,comprising, a generally cylindrical ice-crushing barrel with one endadapted to receive ice to be crushed and the other end adapted to havecrushed ice discharged therefrom, an auger rotatable in said barrel andhaving a root diameter which increases progressively in a directiontoward said discharge end of said barrel, a spike proecting radiallyfrom the root diameter of said auger adjacent the ice-entrance end ofsaid barrel which serves to initiate movement of ice to be crushedthrough said barrel, and drive means for rotating said auger whereby iceis simultaneously crushed and transported through said barrel to saiddischarge end of same.

10. For use in an ice crusher appliance, an icecrushing mechanism,comprising, a generally cylindrical ice-crushing barrel with one end ofsaid barrel being cut away to form an opening through which ice cubes tobe crushed are inserted into said barrel, the other end of said barreladapted to have crushed ice discharged therefrom, an auger rotatable insaid barrel and having a root diameter which increases progressively ina direction toward said discharge end of said barrel, drive means forrotating said auger whereby ice is simultaneously crushed andtransported through said barrel to said discharge end of same, andspikes extending parallel to the axis of said barrel adjacent saidopening to break up ice cubes being transported toward said dischargeend by said auger.

1. A motor operated ice-crushing electric appliance comprising, a vertically disposed housing having an ice-cube receiving opening and a crushed-ice discharge opening both of which are disposed at the top of said housing, a generally verticaly disposed ice chute defined in said housing and extending downwardly from said ice cube-receiving opening, an upwardly inclined ice-crushing barrel in said housing with its upper end terminating at said crushed-ice discharge opening and with its lower end being in communication with the lower end of said ice chute, a rotatable auger mounted in said barrel for simultaneously crushing and transporting ice upwardly through said ice-crushing barrel to said crushed-ice discharge opening, and an electric motor mounted in said housing and operably connected to said auger.
 2. The appliance of claim 1 wherein said top of said housing is generally flat and rectangular in configuration and wherein said ice cube-receiving opening and said crushed-ice discharge opening are disposed in opposite diagonal corners of said housing top.
 3. The appliance of claim 1 wherein said ice-crushing barrel is provided on its bore with a series of longitudinally extending serrated flutes defining a series of longitudinal shoulders facing in a direction opposite to the direction of rotation of said auger, and wherein said auger is characterized by a root diameter which increases progressively from the lower end of said auger to its upper end, said flute shoulders and said increasing root diameter of said auger aiding in compression-crushing and sizing of ice transported upwardly through said barrel by said auger.
 4. The appliance of claim 3 wherein said barrel and said auger are formed of high strength plastic.
 5. The appliance of claim 1 wherein said auger is rotatable about an axis disposed at an angle of approximately 20* to the vertical and wherein a knob is provided on the upper end of said auger to facilitate removal of same from said barrel.
 6. The appliance of claim 5 wherein said electric motor is mounted in said housing with its drive shaft disposed vertically, wherein said motor is provided with a built-in impact clutch, and wherein said motor is operably connected to said upwardly inclined auger through a gear reduction means and a modified universal joint connection.
 7. The appliance of claim 6 wherein said modified universal joint connection comprises a generally square recess formed in the lower end of said inclined auger and a vertically disposed driving head having inclined sides drivingly receivable in said auger recess.
 8. For use in an ice crusher appliance, an ice-crushing mechanism, comprising, a generally cylindrical ice-crushing barrel with one end adapted to receive ice to be crushed and the other end adapted to have crushed ice discharged therefrom, an auger rotatable in said barrel and having a root diameter which increases progressively in a direction toward said discharge end of said barrel, the bore of said barrel being provided with a series of longitudinally extending serrated flutes which are arcuately curved whereby to define a series of longitudinally extending shoulders facing in a direction opposite to the direction of rotation of said auger, and drive means for roTating said auger to advance ice through said barrel to said discharge end of same with said flute shoulders and said increasing root diameter of said auger cooperating to provide compression-crushing and sizing of the ice advanced through said barrel.
 9. For use in an ice crusher appliance, an ice-crushing mechanism, comprising, a generally cylindrical ice-crushing barrel with one end adapted to receive ice to be crushed and the other end adapted to have crushed ice discharged therefrom, an auger rotatable in said barrel and having a root diameter which increases progressively in a direction toward said discharge end of said barrel, a spike proecting radially from the root diameter of said auger adjacent the ice-entrance end of said barrel which serves to initiate movement of ice to be crushed through said barrel, and drive means for rotating said auger whereby ice is simultaneously crushed and transported through said barrel to said discharge end of same.
 10. For use in an ice crusher appliance, an ice-crushing mechanism, comprising, a generally cylindrical ice-crushing barrel with one end of said barrel being cut away to form an opening through which ice cubes to be crushed are inserted into said barrel, the other end of said barrel adapted to have crushed ice discharged therefrom, an auger rotatable in said barrel and having a root diameter which increases progressively in a direction toward said discharge end of said barrel, drive means for rotating said auger whereby ice is simultaneously crushed and transported through said barrel to said discharge end of same, and spikes extending parallel to the axis of said barrel adjacent said opening to break up ice cubes being transported toward said discharge end by said auger. 